Tuesday will begin with mostly cloudy skies. A blast of arctic air settling into the region from the north will meet with moist air moving in from the Atlantic Ocean, prompting the possibility of snow. By afternoon, temperatures will only be pushing 30 degrees.

The outlook for snow is almost opposite the traditional northwest-to-southeast pattern.

"This is a very different system," Gardner said. "Instead of the precipitation moving along with the cold front, it's going to be developing off shore with that moisture pushing inland. We're going to see heavier snow totals down east."